7th Grade Research Report

You will be writing a research paper on an American author your choice. Then, using at least two books as sources, you will write a one and a half to three page MLA style research paper about the life and accomplishments of your author.

The final draft of the paper must includethe following sections in this order:

MLA coversheet

Outline

1 and 1/2to 3 page (double-spaced) body

Works cited

The due dates for the research paper are:

Two books about the life of your author due in class Friday, April28th

Rough draft works cited page due in class Wednesday, May3rd

At least fifteen note cards due in class Friday, May 12th

Rough draft outline due in class Tuesday, May 16th

Rough draft paper due in class Tuesday, May 23rd

Final paper due Tuesday, May 30th

As we study MLA style and proper procedures for research writing, you will be receiving many handouts with information about how to properly format your paper. However, there are a couple of things I want to be sure you know about MLA right from the start:

Your last name and the page number should be found in the top right hand corner of every page of the report (except for the coversheet)

Your paper should be in Times New Roman font, size 12

All margins for the paper should be set at 1”

The works cited page must be alphabetized

Your paper should have a name/title (do NOT just call it “American Author Report”)

Your paper MUST include at least two in-text citations (one per source)

On May 30th, you will give a brief presentation on your author. In two to three minutes, you will explain to the class the following information:

  1. Who your author was
  2. Anything interesting about his life
  3. What he wrote
  4. What his most famous books/poems/plays were about

Recommended Authors

You may choose any American author for your report. Below is a list of recommended authors (based on books available at the Tempe Library). However, feel free to choose a writer who is not on this list.

  1. Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie (novels)
  2. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “Paul Revere’s Ride” (poem)
  3. Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven (poem), “The Tell-Tale Heart” (short story)
  4. Herman Melville: Moby Dick (novel)
  5. Mark Twain (a.k.a. Samuel Clemens): The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (novels)
  6. Langston Hughes: “Dream Deferred” and “Mother to Son” (poems)
  7. Ernest Hemingway: For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea (novels)
  8. John Steinbeck: The Pearl, The Red Pony, The Grapes of Wrath (novels)
  9. Louisa May Alcott: Little Women and Jo’s Boys (novels)
  10. Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom’s Cabin (novel)
  11. Jack London: Call of the Wild, White Fang (novels)
  12. Robert Frost: “The Road Not Taken” (poem)
  13. E.B. White: Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little (novels)
  14. Dr. Seuss (a.k.a. Theodore Geisel): The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (picture books)
  15. Isaac Asimov: Foundation (novel, series)
  16. Emily Dickinson: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death…” and “Success Is Counted Sweetest” (poems)
  17. Maya Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (book)
  18. Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird (book)
  19. L. Frank Baum: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (book)
  20. Toni Morrison: Beloved (book)